Sunday, February 10, 2013

Life at the moment

Life lately has been filled with lots of blessings and good things. I have an upper GI condition that can make life quite painful, and for the last several months I have been in constant pain, I have seen doctors and medicine never really seems to help, so I finally went to a Chiropractor/Holistic doctor (I had also been having a lot of shoulder pain, so I figured it'd fix a couple things hopefully) I'm on a new diet, free from all grains (I was already gluten free, but this is waaay harder) and all sugars, and I feel amazing. Amazing with a capital A. It's funny when you're in constant discomfort/pain you forget how wonderful it feels to be without it. I feel like I'm on cloud nine, and I'm so happy I finally have a remedy. If any of you have any good recipes (free of grain and sugars), I'm having to completely re-think the way I cook, so I would appreciate any suggestions!

Something I have been longing for for the past year has finally become a reality. Tyler and I now own a piano! Since I was a music major in college, I have missed music so very much in my daily life. Not having enough money to purchase a piano right off, I just had to wait. Which means I couldn't audition for choirs or anything. Now, all that has changed. I can once again take voice lessons and practice and enjoy my love for music.

Tyler and I have also been pouring ourselves into our city more, and deciding if we're going to stay here long term or end up moving. The choice is probably a long way off, but we're starting to think about when we want to buy a house and where we want to end up, all really exciting thoughts and decisions. All of this to say, we are very blessed. There are always times that are difficult and that doesn't make us any less blessed, but I'm enjoying this time right now, being pain free, having a new piano, and enjoying our city.

14 comments:

So glad you found an answer to a problem that has been plaguing me. I had ongoing pain in my abdomen for months last year before they figured out I had a very sick galbladder. Once they identfied the problem- they could heal me and it was such a blessing to be free of the constant worry if I would hurt or not unexpectedly. also- on an unrelated note- i finally decided who your honey reminds me of...Jason Ritter. Totally twins.

Dear Emma, thank you very much for sharing some of the health issues that you've been battling with us. As a fellow chronic illness (including four different chronic GI conditions) survivor, I know how hard it can be to discuss such matters publicly, especially when they involve areas and functions of our bodies that generally do not make for the lightest of conversations.

I've had celiac disease for a few years now myself and have been completely gluten-free for most of that time (I get absurdly ill if I have in the tiniest trace amount of gluten, so I truly do avoid it like the plague). I also eat very little sugar (due to a different condition), so I can completely relate to the boat that you're in, culinary-ily wise. I very rarely miss wheat/gluten after so long without it any more and has I've never had much of a sweet tooth, don't mind forgoing sugar most of the time either. I can't eat many fruits (due to my GI issues and also because of a bladder condition I have called interstitial cystitis), but there's a small number that I can have most (on my better days) and those have really served to provide all the sweetness I find I need most of the time. If you're able to have any fruit, I hope you'll feel the same is true for you after a while. Though there are some recipes there that have sugar, there are many without or which could be made sugar-free, I have a board on Pinterest devoted just to gluten-free recipes called "Glorious Gluten-Free Foods", and in general, try to post recipes to my other boards to which, in some cases, could be altered to be GF.

I'm always, always here for you if I can be of help in any way or if you just need to vent/talk about these kinds of subjects.

Wishing you positive health & all the best as you embark on this new chapter of your life,♥ Jessica

I'm so sorry to hear that you have been having such a tough time of it lately, Emma. I am, however, glad to hear that you have found a way to control it with your diet! I can't imagine how hard it must be to completely eliminate grains and sugar from your diet, yet it's so great that from doing this, you are in control again, and able to get back to normal again. xxx

I can relate to stomach problems, I am lactose intolerant, but still having problems I have to have further tests/exploratory surgery to see what's going on! I agree it's difficult as it affects your everyday and social life. Hopefully your new diet without sugars will help :)

I'd love to hear you play the piano! My mom took lessons when I was younger so I grew up with a piano in the house. It's nice :) So sorry to hear you're dealing with health issues. I have acid reflux so I understand what you mean about the constant discomfort :( Happy to hear you're feeling better though!! xo

So sorry to hear you've been in chronic pain, but glad to hear you've found something that's working out for you! I would imagine grain-free would be really tough, but feeling better is worth it! I am a big believer in holistic care when feasible... you may also consider acupuncture. It can be amazing for pain, including chronic pain.

And congrats on the piano, it sounds like it will be really special to you. Yay! :)

good to hear that you found a remedy after a long time of suffering. my mum had a diet without any grains for a while. she started baking with flour from corn and had pasta made from corn. are you allowed to eat corn?

Just stumbled upon your blog today (through Vixen Vintage! I am in the grain/sugar free boat myself, but for different reasons (insulin resistance and hormones). I would suggest looking into "Paleo" or "primal" eating. That is essentially the brand name for those who eschew all grains and sugars. The focus is on healthy meat, fish, fowl, lots and lots of veggies, some fruit, and good healthy fats. I can tell you that this has made a tremendous difference in my own life and in the lives of friends of mine.

I would suggest checking out websites like marksdailyapple.com, everydaypaleo.com/, beta.primal-palate.com/ (cookbook from these guys is awesome!), robbwolf.com